Scarlet's Shadow
by MauMeow1
Summary: After Conall's escape from Styginmoor, Scarlet makes a choice that will change her life forever. She must team up with a friendly but dumb Rose Dragon, a horse, and a strange girl on her journey through North of North. Scarlet thinks she's left her terrible past behind her, but it will follow her like a shadow for the rest of her days. (Sequel to Conall's Pack! Read that first!)
1. Prologue: Scarlet's Choice

**There aren't any votes in yet, but I'm posting this anyway because I had it typed up already! XD. I'll start a second book if you want the sequel that was voted on!**

**I STRONGLY advise you read Conall's Pack before this. It happens in North of North and includes a character or two, but it is an "off-canon" story compared to the last one I wrote.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bella Sara or its characters. My OC's, like Scarlet, are free for use if you want to use them in a story. **

**So we'll start just before where we left off...**

_Prologue: Scarlet's Choice_

The barking and howls of Ivenna's pack filled the air as they began the hunt.

Normally, the would search for a rabbit or squirrel. Maybe a deer or elk if they were lucky, but tonight the wolves of Styginmoor did not search for prey. They searched for a traitor. One of their own.

Conall.

Scarlet felt her stomach twist as her heart raced. Every wolf looked gray and grim as she passed. Her sister, Lystra was as silent as the snow once she finished her cry. Scarlet paced behind their beta, Storm. The dark he-wolf stood beside Myrfor and Sundew nervously. Scarlet looked at their alphas. "Is it time?" she asked blankly.

Myrfor gave her a nod.

The rest of the hunt was a blur. Wolves streamed past her like shadows after their leaders. Scarlet ran directly behind Sundew, watching her friends slip along beside her. Lystra glanced at her in the eye. "Do you really think we're going to catch him? I mean, Ivenna didn't give him much of a chance."

"I can't believe he did that," Swan mumbled angrily. "Why would anyone do that?"

Scarlet shook her head. She wished she knew _why _Conall had betrayed them, too. _This is your choice, not mine. _Her own, harsh words stung her own heart. Scarlet felt it harden as Myrfor barked out a few more orders. After Conall had told her about his decision, she'd kept his secret. Why? It was still a Mystery to Scarlet. Grass, Scarlet's mother, had drilled it into her head over and over that Styginmoor was where they would always stay. They were safe and welcomed there, unlike any other place she had been told about.

Places with horses. _Those _were bad news. Scarlet's life had become a nightmare when the great mare Bella had returned with the wolf she had called her friend. The creatures had broken into the castle, freed every creature Ivenna had worked to capture, and run off with their maid, Jillian Frouda. Conall, too.

Scarlet was forced to admit to herself that she had some feelings for Conall at one time. They were friends, off course, but maybe - just maybe - it could have been a little _more _than that...if he had even bothered to stay.

There was a bittersweet moment at the castle when Ivenna and the wolves got their revenge on Conall for his actions. The sorceress had turned him into a half creature - a hybrid of equine and canine, cursed to never be only one species.

"He had to have moved to the east," Sundew remarked. The pack's reply was mixed, and Scarlet didn't have any comment. She'd never been one of Styginmoor's best trackers.

"No..." Myrfor continued for a few feet, sniffing the air. "The wind has shifted." Storm, Swan, and Healia joined in. For a chilling moment, Scarlet wondered if the trail had ended.

Then he howled. "This way!" their alpha male bellowed. Myrfor streaked past the few trees at the place were the forest grafted seamlessly into mountains. Scarlet felt herself lope forward. Her head buzzed. The wolves around her sniffed and growled. They were eager for revenge, but she could feel her friends' hesitation without even speaking to them.

They began to climb. Scarlet looked up. Her blood started to turn as cold as the air. She saw _him_. Conall was nothing but a trembling splash of gray above them. His golden eyes came into view. They focused on Myrfor and Sundew, his parents. Scarlet pressed herself against Talc, pretending to be tired. _Please don't spot me!_

Myrfor started to advance. Conall's defiant aura wavered. He stepped backwards, keeping the distance between him and his father the same as before. Myrfor kept approaching. Conall was trapped.

Scarlet remained focused on the he-wolves. She stood in the flurry of fur, doing nothing and never being noticed.

A few icy moments passed with Conall gradually becoming more and more nervous. Myrfor snarled. _Make it quick._

"Arooooooooo!"

A sudden howl split the frozen skies. Conall had his head flung back, wailing a strange cry that seemed to be a cross between a neigh and the resounding howl he had once sang with Scarlet.

Lystra's eyes widened as she stared at her sister, Scarlet. The ground began to tremble as the snow shook itself loose from the rocky mountain. "Did he..." Lystra stepped back. Scarlet's throat constricted.

For a fraction of the second, Scarlet's eyes locked with Conall's. His amber-colored ones became as round as saucers when he realized she was among the crowd. _Why? _both animals seemed to ask each other.

The snow, ice, and rock crumbled. Scarlet watched him leap - a desperate, suicidal move. She started to scream for her pack, but the yelp was torn out of her mouth as she and the ledge collapsed. The howls of Styginmoor's wolves ripped through the air in panic. Scarlet felt herself falling with the blanket of snow.

Weightlessness.

Then dark.

The only word she could think, again and again, as she collided with the earth below, was _why._

It was her answer. Her choice.

**Yes, the chapters will be longer. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 1: Dreams

**I'm back. Sorry for how long it took me to write this chapter. Pickles. That's all I have to say.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bella Sara or any characters or places mentioned (Styginmoor, Ivenna, Conall, Myrfor, and Bella, I believe) I have created the names, personalities, and descriptions for all of the wolves, but you can use them wherever you want.**

_Chapter One: Dreams_

"Scarlet?"

The world opened up before Scarlet as her golden eyes opened halfway. Light from the round, waxing moon illuminated the snowy forests she had run through the night before. Scarlet couldn't move. Her thoughts were still messy and confusing. She couldn't focus on anything but the beat of her own heart. It pounded against her chest, fighting to stay moving instead of freezing like the rest of her body. Scarlet closed her eyes again, flashing through what had just happened to her. A gaze of gold like her's. A wall of white. Conall.

_Conall_.

"Scarlet." She felt a freezing paw shake her.

Scarlet's eyes opened again. She struggled to sit up as the snow that had covered her hind legs held her down. She squinted as the dusty brown face of another she-wolf stared back at her. _Lystra_, Scarlet realized. Lystra looked...terrible. That was the best way Scarlet could have put it. Her sister was scraped and banged in almost every place of her pelt, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Judging from the stinging sensation that turned her body numb, Scarlet guessed she had been injured just as badly.

Lystra pulled her sibling out of the snow without hearing a word of protest. She peered around. Scarlet followed her gaze. Myrfor and Sundew were yards away, pulling Healia and Elan out from under a mound of white. Swan, Storm, and Grass were howling for the other members of the pack. Talc looked like her leg was twisted, but she was also searching.

Styginmoor's wolves were in ruins.

Storm limped toward the two she-wolves after he stopped howling. "Have any of you seen Silverlight and Dusk?" he asked with a hint of worry.

Scarlet shook her head. She felt her mouth become a bit drier. "You...you don't think...they...died, do you?"

"Never," Storm replied, "But no one's seen them since..."

_Conall_. Scarlet felt a stab of rage pulse through her. _He _had to be the blame for this disaster. Who else would be? _Ivenna was the one who banished him. Myrfor was the one who led the pack after him. Sundew was the one who told us to tear him apart. Jillian was the one who convinced him to turn on us. _I _was the one who told him to go..._Her ears shot up in alarm. _She_ couldn't be the one responsible. It just wasn't possible.

"I'll help search," Scarlet croaked, turning away from Storm. She sniffed the air for any scent of the missing wolves. Nothing. Only one scent - one that made her hackles rise - stood out in the wind. Conall was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

...

The pack returned by mid-morning. No wolf had gone uninjured in the avalanche. Even Myrfor, the proudest leader Scarlet had ever seen besides Bella, held his head a bit lower as they reached the castle without Dusk or Silverlight. The wolves sauntered through the hole in the gates that Thunder had created before the battle. Scarlet forced herself to look away from the burnt, metal ruins, worried it would remind her of the fight with the horses.

Ivenna was more furious than ever before when she discovered Conall had escaped the pack. She paced as Myrfor gave her the details. "This won't do," she muttered, "How will I _ever _explain this."

Myrfor shook himself. _We will have to leave at once_, he growled in the tongue of wolfrider and canine. He spun around, facing the pack. "Guard the castle. Everyone. We can't risk another attack."

Ivenna nodded. She snatched up her iron staff with more force than necessary and stormed toward her private part of the castle. Myrfor and Sundew followed. Scarlet glanced over her back as she and the rest of the other wolves left. Her tail flicked nervously. _What will happen to the pack now?_

"Scarlet?" Lystra turned toward Scarlet as they reached the hallway and began to split into pairs of guards. "Do you want to...you know, talk for a second?"

"Actually, I think I'm going to get a bit of rest now."

"Scarlet-"

Scarlet spun around, hoping her sibling wouldn't see the miserable expression on her face. She felt bad for resting while Myrfor assigned guard positions to the other wolves, but Scarlet knew she needed the sleep. _And_, she thought, _I need the time to think._

Sitting herself down with a groan, she licked at a scrape on her front leg. Her head continued to spin. Scarlet couldn't shake the haunting, sickening feeling in her stomach away. Nor could she seem to get rid of the black and swirling confusion that roared through her head. _Well...rest should help. You've just been through an avalanche after all. Tiredness must be most of it...right?_

Scarlet's eyes began to close from weariness and, yes, tiredness. She gave into sleep and hoped for a pleasant dream.

...

"Give. It. Back."

Scarlet's teeth drew back in a snarl around the bone she was holding. She scrambled away from the small, dark puppy who was chasing her across the hill the mothers of Styginmoor's pack had brought their young pups to. Her soft, lightly padded paws were delicate enough to be scraped on the rocky ground she strayed to, but she didn't care. As a young wolf, only a few weeks old, Scarlet was full of too much energy to stay hurt for long.

Lystra snickered as she bounced back and forth behind Scarlet. She danced playfully around the smaller pup. "We found it first, Runt. Stay away from our food!"

A tiny growl escaped the chest of the tiny wolf. "It's not yours, and I am _not _a runt!"

"Look at your reflection, fuzzball," Scarlet taunted. Lystra howled triumphantly as the he-pup scrambled toward them and fell hard on his chest and side.

Sundew and Grass glanced at the three pups. The alpha female started to trot over with concern and a sliver or scorn crossing her face. Runt - as Scarlet and Lystra called the poor pup - glared back at them smugly. "Now you're going to get it."

"Scarlet. Lystra." Sundew's stare brought guilt to their eyes. "How many times have Grass and I told you to be nice to Conall?

Conall's expression changed from smugness to the beginning of rage. "I'm fine, Mom! I can chase both of them away."

Sundew flashed all of them a warning look. "Conall, go play with your own siblings. Scarlet and Lystra, you should go back to your mother, too."

"They didn't even apologize."

"Conall, GO TO YOUR SIBLINGS. Scarlet and Lystra were just playing. You'll understand when your older," Sundew said sternly.

With an angry scowl, Conall whipped around and stomped toward the shapes of his brother and sisters. "We are the SAME age," he muttered, just enough below his breath for Sundew to ignore.

Scarlet felt a twinge of pity for Conall...or Runt. It was quickly replaced by delight as Lystra nipped her and began a race for Grass with her. Scarlet wouldn't care for the tiny pup for another year. Conall was nothing but the weakest part of the pack.

...

Scarlet licked her lips as she got ready to eat the young, juicy rabbit she and Lystra had caught earlier in the day. She hadn't even told Lystra - the wolf who cached it - that she was going to take it. _When you're hungry_, she thought, _You're going to eat. _Her sleek pelt, now almost in its adult form, was longer and thicker from six months of hunting and growing with the rest of the pups in the pack.

Howls broke the peace that Scarlet had almost grasped. She turned around lazily. A few of the wolves Myrfor had gathered for a small hunt and excursion had returned already. Storm, Elan, Night, and...Conall. The young wolf had put on weight and strength since the days Scarlet would tease him for being small. He looked a little like a smaller version of Myrfor, and it was easy to tell which of his parents he was going to resemble the most.

No one in the pack felt sorry for him or superior anymore. Scarlet's ears flicked forward as he trotted past her, curious about what the waves of anger coming off him were from. Conall's face was scrunched up, his ears pinned, and his pelt bristled a bit when he was out of the other wolves' sight. Muttering to himself, Conall slipped past the guard wolves and into the castle.

Feeling bored and a little in need of adventure, Scarlet followed.

She stalked Conall like prey as he passed most of the main rooms. None of the guards paid any attention as they slipped by. Most of them were used to wolves going back and forth on missions for Ivenna. Scarlet's mind raced as Conall trotted up to the old door to a room. A smaller room. Scarlet resisted the urge to sniff around. Instead, she peeked around a corner to watch.

The door opened. A younger human stepped outside, and, to Scarlet's surprise, greeted Conall warmly. She guessed the human was the equivalent of an older pup now: still too young to be an adult but no longer helpless. Conall's ears twitched appreciatively as she stroked them. "I've got to leave now, fuzzy-foot," she said. "See you after dinner."

Conall shrank back a little as the person left. Scarlet remembered her as the castle's maid, though she never paid much attention to her. She couldn't even remember the girl's name. There were more important things to deal with now, though.

Conall turned to leave...but Scarlet was waiting for him. "_Fuzzy foot_? What kind of name is-"

A growl escaped Conall's lips. "No one told you to follow me." His tail twitched. "Right?"

"You realize Myrfor's going to kill you when he find out about this," Scarlet said, glaring at him.

"You think he doesn't know already?"

Scarlet stood for a moment, thinking about what Conall had said. Her head tipped to the side. "He _let _you..."

"Look, I don't see why the rest of the pack has to know about anything." Conall's black lips curled for a second. "Sundew and Myrfor already know about it. You won't...let anyone know, will you?"

Scarlet sniffed. "Sure, teddy bear, but don't blame me when everyone dies laughing at you."

"Thanks" Conall walked away, completely ignoring the sting of her reply. Her head turned to watched him go, still unable to focus on the fact the grandson of Fenrir was called _fuzzy foot_.

She shook her head. A few seconds later, Scarlet was trotting after him.

...

Scarlet expected the hunt. She expected the stream where she and Conall had argued about Styginmoor. She expected more memories of him, dragging her down, down into the past where she would be driven insane or kill herself. _Is this what I get for not helping him?_ she wanted to wail.

Instead, the landscape changed. For the first time in her dream, the actual Scarlet felt physical. She could feel long, dark blades of grass swirling around her paws and the damp earth against their pads. Everything around her was a shadowy grassland. There were no forests or mountains in the distance like Scarlet expected, only endless hills of the mournful plants.

Then, in the sky so thick and black Scarlet squinted to see it, a thin wisp of light appeared. It was to formless to be a twinkle imp. Something about its _power _told her it was not a magical creature. Scarlet watched it come closer and closer, growing with each hypnotic movement, until it was directly in front of her.

The light began to change. As it did, smaller wisps rolled off it, becoming countless animals. The main orb took the form of a glowing white mare. Everything about her was made of light, even her eyes were white as her coat.

"Bella," Scarlet choked out. Her pelt shivered with a sudden icy feeling. This was the horse who had stopped Ivenna, saved the creatures Scarlet once commanded, and...helped Conall. This was the horse who had helped Conall when she hadn't. "What do you want? Where have you taken Conall? Her voice was still small, like a plea.

_Conall is with his friend, Jillian, though they have quests of their own in the near future. _Bella's thoughts flowed directly to Scarlet's mind. She had no starstone; Scarlet wondered how the horse could do this.

Bella's shining eyes became a bit gentler. _We are now enemies, Wolf, but I see things inside that mean we do not have to be. You miss your friend, don't you?_

"I don't care about Co- any traitors now," Scarlet growled. She bared her teeth in a canine scowl.

_You know that isn't so, Scarlet. _Scarlet's hackles stiffened with alarm when the great mare called her by name.

"How-"

_Sadly, I fear your destinies are not tied the way you wish them to be. Conall was once told to find his. Now you must face your own._

"What _is_ my destiny then, B-Bella," Scarlet asked shakily.

_I do not know, at least not now. But I know you are different from the ones of your species that you follow. You _can _change. You could find Conall to make up for the past._

"That's wrong! Lystra, Sundew, Grass, even Myrfor, they're all good wolves! How can I just-"

Bella started to fade. Her coat became moonlight, and the majestic horse faded into the overpowering night. _This is your choice, Scarlet. Conall made his. Myrfor made his. What shadow will you cast on the future? Evil or great..._

* * *

**To answer Amy Hanekom, our guest reviewer's, question from Conall's Pack, Myrfor, while I tried to make him s decent parent, isn't exactly the most clear-headed wolf. There aren't many places for a species everyone hates now to go in North of North. After all, even if Myrfor's pack joined more for their own selfish reasons and started regretting it, the OTHER wolf riders still have their own packs which are (or were) more than willing to do evil and spread a bad reputation for other wolves who are fairly nice. Styginmoor isn't really the only option, but to a super distracted alpha with a lot on his mind, it seemed like it.**

**My real reasoning: I needed the wolves to be good and stick with Ivenna to keep the plotline roughly following Bella's Gift. And I overlooked a few things to do that. Yep. :P DX**


	3. Chapter 2: Petals and Scales

**My apologies for how short this chapter is. The next one will be longer, I promise.**

_Chapter Two: Petals and Scales_

Oracle calmly surveyed the distant mass of fog and darkness. The black stallions pelt shined like a thousand suns with ancient letters from lands and times humans had already forgotten, places he had seen only in the past.

Styginmoor drew him nearer. He did not belong here, but he felt the tug of the evil place. This was where he would find his answer, he was sure of it. The old horse had seen many things in all times. Only now did he truly realize how impossible it would be to find light or goodness in the realm of Ivenna's castle.

_Maybe I should not have even bothered coming_, he thought, his mane and tail blowing in the fierce wind. _But the future is always undecided, and that cannot be changed. Maybe there is some hope for my quest to succeed._

...

"Aroooooooooooooooooooo!"

Scarlet's head shot up, ears pricked and eyes wide. She scrabbled to her paws before she even identified the sound. _Storm. _Her tail wagged with excitement. _He must be organizing a hunt. _It seemed irresponsible to start a hunt when most of the pack was supposed to be guarding the castle, but everyone needed something to get their minds of the failure they'd just experienced.

The gray blur underneath her became their beta, Storm, as she loped unsteadily down the hill. Talc, Crescent, and Grass. She spotted Lystra trotting toward them from the castle's courtyard.

Storm waited until all five wolves were present to begin speaking. He muttered to himself and paced a few times. Scarlet figured he wasn't used to hunting without Sundew or Myrfor in the lead. "Since we don't have enough wolves to bring down big game," Storm barked, "We're going to split up and look for rabbits, fish, birds, you know, the smaller prey." He started to study the wolves in front of him. "Lystra and Scarlet, you're a good team. I want you two to work together."

Lystra did her best to look cheerful. That was her job. Scarlet could tell her sister was distracted under her guise of happiness, though. She decided to focus on Storm.

"Grass, Crescent, and...Talc. Swan's not here?" Storm glanced at the she-wolf curiously.

Talc shook her head. "He got assigned to guard the herbarium. I can go solo if you want."

"No, I need everyone in groups. I'll go with you instead," Storm said. Scarlet wondered why he needed it that way. She almost asked, but Lystra caught her eyes and mouthed the word "don't".

Confused, Scarlet trotted up to her sibling. Storm and Talc were still talking. "I think we should leave," Lystra grumbled. "These two never get along. At least not when Swan isn't here."

Scarlet nodded. "Any idea where to go, though?"

Lystra casually shoved her muzzle toward the mountains. "I might have seen some elk there."

"But Storm said-"

"Storm won't care when we kill enough food to feed half the pack." Lystra gritted her teeth and started to bounce off with her back to Scarlet. "Now, come on."

...

Lystra sniffed at the air a few times. Her fur prickled excitedly as she skittered ahead a few steps. "They were here again! Come on, we can still track their scent!" She raced ahead of Scarlet, her tail flying like a loose ribbon. Scarlet glanced at far peak of the mountain Conall had changed the slope of. _Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Finding food is more important than...that._

Stones skidded off the snow as Lystra jumped into a huge mound of it. She leaped higher on the mountain. Scarlet clumsily stumbled through it behind her. She wanted to yell at Lystra for disobeying Storm's orders, but the promise of a good meal was too much. How long had it been since Scarlet had actually had a good meal, one where she could eat until she felt about to burst? Five days? A week? Her stomach growled.

Lystra suddenly stiffened. Her demeanor changed from playful to severe and sour. Scarlet eyed her curiously. "Uh...Lystra."

"Do you smell that?" Lystra said softly.

"What?" Scarlet trotted over to her sibling. A sharp, strange scent hit her nose. A chill passed through her. _Magic_. It was faint, but something other than a normal elk or deer had passed by here.

Lystra ran ahead. Scarlet followed her and the strange smell, her own fur rising slightly. "Lystra...Lystra! Are you sure we should be doing this on our own?" she called.

The dusty she-wolf slowed. She glanced back at Scarlet. "It could be a magical creature! What if Bella didn't free them all?"

_Bella_. Scarlet tensed. She thought about her odd "dream". Bella knew where Conall was. It was quite obvious why she hadn't told Scarlet, the enemy, where her former friend had fled to. Still, Bella's words about destinies and Scarlet had shaken the wolf more than she wanted to let herself know. What if she could find Conall, convince him to come back and make amends. Strangely, she got the feeling that wasn't what Bella wanted. _Then Bella's wrong_, Scarlet thought. _I won't betray my pack! Not for Conall or anyone else in North of North!_

"Scarlet." Lystra's voice dropped to a fast whisper. She nudged a thorny bush with a muzzle. _It's here_, her eyes told Scarlet.

Scarlet's tail lashed. Her heliodor eyes burned into Lystra's. "Do we attack?" she hissed.

Every hair on Lystra's pelt stood still as an ancient oak's branches. She took a step forward. There was a snapping sound as her dusty paw splintered a twig resting atop the snow. Her eyes widened. She looked back at Scarlet frantically. "Now."

The leaves and branches of the bush's right side scattered. Scarlet burst through them and lunged for whatever was waiting for them on the other side.

First came the shock of hitting something so hard and cold. Then came the pain.

Scarlet recoiled with a yelp. She stumbled away from whatever she'd tried to attack, her muzzle and mouth stinging like crazy. She turned to face whatever had countered her lunge so brutally. She was even more shocked so see what it was.

The reptilian creature in the snow was more like a plant than a lizard or snake. It had a long, serpentine neck and a head like a dragon with a small snout. It's hide was covered in smooth, green scale with sharp, thorny ridges down its neck, back, and tail. Its tail was the weirdest part. A delicate, white rose with most of its petal's missing adorned it. Only two petals were left. One was wilted and looked ready to drop. The animal/plant/organism regarded Scarlet with beady eyes as black as sunflower seeds.

Then the impossible happened. It spoke.

"Excuse me?" the plant-creature choked. It waddled away from Scarlet and Lystra. Scarlet noticed how short its legs were. They seemed to be covered by soft, white rose petals only slightly worn and brown.

Lystra's pelt prickled even more. "A white rose dragon...I didn't even know those things existed."

"I recall Ivenna keeping a few of the red kind," Scarlet offered, inching closer.

The rose dragon backed up. "Wait...Ivenna? What _are_ you some kind of husky?"

The two sisters made eye contact. _seriously? _Lystra's expression said. Scarlet just shook her head. "Kill it."

"Wait, what?"

It staggered backwards as Lystra knocked it over with a kick and snap. Scarlet slashed at it but missed it head, only tearing a few scales in its side. A weird, green substance oozed out. Chlorophyll, like a plant's. Lystra danced around her sister and rushed in to pin the rose dragon. Her jaws slammed together less than an inch away from the blossom that ended its - he, Scarlet assumed from his voice, though she was unsure whether such a plant-like animal had genders - tail.

The dragon gave a defiant little huff. Despite the vicious snarls of both she-wolves sounding just beside him, he scuttled backwards and scrabbled his way up a tall tree. Lystra looked outraged. Scarlet watched with a dismayed look as she flung her paws against the bark as if expecting to climb the tree herself and barked like mad. "Lystra," Scarlet mumbled, prodding her with her paw. Lystra let out a low growl as she stepped down from the base of the tree to face her.

Scarlet glared at the rose dragon. "Not worth it."

Lystra's neck puffed slightly, but she stopped her angry bellows. She cast one more look of loathing at the reptile before staring back at Scarlet. "Alright," she said unsteadily, "Not worth it. Let's head back. Storm and the other wolves have probably had more luck with hunting."

Disappointment filled Scarlet. Her ears relaxed and fell to her head as she began the journey back to Styginmoor with a step.

Lystra tensed. "Wait," she yelped.

Scarlet turned almost eagerly. "What?"

Fear filled Lystra's eyes. They connected to Scarlet's within moments, and Scarlet began to grasp her terror. A scent much to familiar entered Scarlet's nose.

"Horses."

**We won't be seeing any of Scarlet in the next chapter. Not till the very end, at least.**


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